Tipple, pre-prandial, aperitif, snifter, cheeky one, noggin, dram, nip, skinful…whatever you call yours, join us for one (or several) at the FCCC Happy Hour!
DATE: Friday, August 7th
TIME: 6-10pm
VENUE: The Bookworm http://www.beijingbookworm.com/
ENTRANCE: Free. Non-members very welcome as always
DIZZY DRINKS DISCOUNT: FCCC members wielding a valid FCCC membership card get the usual crazy discounts on draught Carlsberg and Yanjing, bottled Tsing Tao, house wine and mixed drinks.
Newly approved new members can pay membership dues (as per invoice) on the door and collect their FCCC membership card to indulge in the discounts – just let fcccadmin@gmail.com know you’re coming first.
The FCCC has received many recent reports of pressure on Chinese news assistants and a general tightening of oversight on them, after several years of increasing freedom. We’d like to remind members that it is illegal under Chinese law for assistants to conduct “independent reporting.” Punishments for those assistants deemed to have overstepped the bounds have in the past ranged from warnings to detentions and a ban on working for foreign news organizations.
Please keep your assistants’ safety in mind when reporting and gathering news in China.
For more guidance on working with Chinese assistants, please see this section of the Reporters’ Guide.
FCCC Professional Committee
Chinese Netizens are heroic Zorros or voyeuristic bounty-hunters by turns. As People’s War 2.0 rages online, some have called for the state to introduce stronger legislation to protect personal data and privacy. Invisible Killer — which will soon hit the screens in Beijing — is possibly the first film on the phenomenon of ‘human flesh search engine’ (人肉搜索). It fictionalises from news reports cases of lives turned upside down by online witch hunts.
A Q&A session with the film’s director Wang Jing and producer Xie Xiaodong will follow the screening of this 90 minute-film, in Chinese with English subtitles. The film has been reviewed in Variety magazine.
DATE: Saturday, July 25, 2009
TIME: 2pm
**CHANGE OF VENUE: China Central Newsreel and Documentray Film Studio (中央新闻纪录电影制片厂 ), No.67 Central Road of the North 3rd Ring Road (北京市海淀区北京市海淀区北三环中路67 ), first floor, The Main Building.
FOR FURTHER INFO: Angel at Massway Films, cell: 13911177405 / email: masswayfilms@gmail.com
ENTRANCE: free to FCCC members, 50 rmb to non-members
SECURITY: bring passport/ID card and FCCC membership card
*RSVP to Angel at Massway Films on masswayfilms@gmail.com NOT the FCCC admin office. Include your surname, first name and organisation.*
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Director Wang Jing was born in Jiangsu in 1966. He graduated from the Department of Photography of the Beijing Film Academy in 1990. He now teaches there.
Producer Xie Xiaodong graduated from Peking University in the 1980s, after which he left for the US to work and study. He now works as a film producer in China.
Information Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dear Sir:
In light of past problems covering large incidents like the unrest in Tibet last year, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China would like to share some of the feedback we received from our members, given the large number of journalists who traveled to Xinjiang to cover the unrest.
Our club welcomes the relatively open access for correspondents in Urumqi and we hope this is a sign of things to come for press working conditions in China. Many correspondents who traveled to Urumqi to cover the riots and their aftermath reported to us that police and foreign affairs officials were generally helpful. They responded promptly, assisting journalists by providing special Internet and telephone lines, arranging press conferences and by keeping the reporting environment reasonably open. These are important steps toward what the FCCC asked for last year after the problems reporting in Tibet.
Still, several serious concerns remain that we hope the Chinese government will address.
In Kashgar, several correspondents were ejected from the city and prevented from doing their jobs. In Shaoguan, reporters met with obstacles while trying to report on the toy factory murders related to the Urumqi protests. The relative openness of Urumqi should be applied to all areas, in keeping with the government’s open reporting regulations.
In addition, we are extremely concerned about the hostility directed at foreign correspondents as a result of inflammatory comments in mainstream Chinese media regarding coverage of Xinjiang. At least two of our members have received deaths threats, many others have had disturbing telephone calls or been targeted by email viruses. We are also concerned about warnings to journalists in Xinjiang to avoid breaking the rules by asking sensitive questions. One correspondent in Urumqi was detained on that charge, which goes against standard international reporting conditions.
The media arrangements in Urumqi represented a genuine step forward. The recent progress toward an open reporting climate should not be undermined by statements that stir up hostility toward foreign journalists.
For more details, please see the incidents below. I am more than happy to meet and discuss these matters in person. This is not an exhaustive list, but gives some examples of the obstacles our members faced:
Yours sincerely,
Scott McDonald
President,
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, while encouraged that journalists were allowed to report from Urumqi, is alarmed at the growing number of reporters who have been detained while trying to do their jobs.
Foreign reporters have been asked to leave the city of Kashgar, and in some cases have been escorted to the airport. Photographs have also been deleted from cameras. At least four reporters were detained for hours in Urumqi, a worrying trend.
Reporters in those cities and other parts of Xinjiang should be allowed to do their work according to international norms.
“We strongly encourage local officials in Xinjiang to allow the media to report and move about the area without hindrance,” said FCCC president Scott McDonald.
